The phrase “yeah…it was alright” has come up countless times when my friends and I have discussed our most recent night out. The music was the same as normal, the place was the same as normal and the people were the same as normal – the night was the same as normal. Every now and then I have a truly memorable experience but more often than not I wake up wishing that I had spared myself the fatigue and had kept my money in my pocket.
So why do so many of us subject ourselves to this disappointment? Well it’s because we’re worried that the one night we decide not to join our friends will be the one night when something amazing happens. It will be when the private joke that will last for the next three years is established, or when that boy or girl you liked will finally tell you that they’ve always fancied you or the night that you all up end up at the house party hosted by the coolest person you know.
Unfortunately though, none of these things ever seem to end up happening – or at least they don’t 99% of the time. Now, of course, I’m not telling you to never go out, for one I would be a hypocrite if I did, but please don’t just go for fear of missing out. Honestly, the best nights I’ve had are the ones which have been blow-outs after a week of work or special occasions for someone’s birthday. They have been when I really wanted to relax and have fun, not when I was worried that I might miss out. You know what? Spending the evening in bed is great too!
My night watching House of Cards won’t be documented with photos on Facebook but it will allow me to go to sleep and, I’m sorry, but sleep is underrated at university. A night in won’t let me get that number from a girl I met in the bathroom (because we’re obviously destined to be best friends) but it will allow me to have a Skype session with a friend from home.
So please, let’s all just agree that sometimes we’re going to want to stay in and we shouldn’t pressure each other into getting dressed up to have a night we’re going to forget, possibly for more reasons than one. Everyone needs some time by themselves and we shouldn’t miss out on that for fear of missing out on something else. We need to learn to live in the actual present rather than the anticipated future and enjoy just doing nothing (and by nothing I mean watching the latest series of Game of Thrones).